"He Is A Freak": Michael Clarke's Ultimate Praise For India Star

Former Australia captain Michael Clarke was all praise for India's star pacer Jasprit Bumrah post the bowler's terrific show against England in the second Test in Visakhapatnam. Bumrah picked a total of nine wickets in the game while conceding 91 runs. After the stellar performance, the 30-year-old leapfrogged Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada and Ravichandran Ashwin to become only the fourth India bowler to attain number one position in the Test bowling rankings. Meanwhile, Bumrah also became the first-ever Indian pacer to take the top spot in the list. While praising him, Clarke called Bumrah "a freak".

"Bumrah, what can you say! He is a freak. His skill in these conditions are never conducive to fast bowling, it's unbelievable. He is a freak," said ex-Australia captain Clarke on ESPNcricinfo.

Bumrah, who was named Player of the Match after helping India level the five-match series with a 106-run victory, ended Ashwin's 11-month long reign. Ashwin, on 499 Test wickets, is now third in the standings.

Bumrah now has 881 rating points with Ashwin (904) and Jadeja (899) the only India bowlers to have aggregated more rating points. Ashwin and Jadeja also have the unique distinction of being jointly top-ranked in March 2017.

Talking about the second Test against England, Indian bowlers won an engrossing battle against the guests' firebrand batting for a series-levelling victory earlier this week, blunting 'Bazball' with their resilience in a roller-coaster contest.

England began day four at 67 for one, chasing a record target of 399. They were bowled out for 292 in the extended afternoon session. The visiting team's no holds barred approach, which has largely been successful, did not work on this occasion as India picked up nine